I recently came across a fascinating historical topic: there are only five leaders in the world whose remains have been permanently preserved. Some have remained intact for nearly a century, while others were ultimately cremated. Behind this are stories of technological breakthroughs as well as marks of the era’s choices.

Lenin is the pioneer of modern permanent body preservation. After his death in 1924, there were plans for a normal burial, but the wave of public mourning changed everything. When the body began to decompose, the Soviet Union decided to freeze it urgently, opening the door to permanent preservation. The freezing plan was later discontinued, and Soviet scientists repeatedly experimented, eventually developing a special preservative solution that inhibits bacteria by replacing body water, laying the technical foundation for permanent preservation.

Lenin’s mausoleum is equipped with a constant temperature cooling system, with laboratory experts performing weekly repairs and regular maintenance, even requiring minor transplant surgeries. As a result, the body has remained intact for nearly a hundred years. Similarly, Stalin, another Soviet leader, was buried in Lenin’s mausoleum in 1953, but due to changing political values, he was removed and cremated in 1961. This shows that historical choices play a decisive role in the fate of preserved remains.

Ho Chi Minh of Vietnam wished to be cremated during his lifetime, but his successor decided to preserve his body. During the Vietnam War, his body was secretly stored in a mountain cave for five years, with Soviet experts hiding underground to avoid bombings and completing the preservation process. The preservation of Angola’s Nito body was even more challenging; Soviet specialists developed a pigment preservation technique suitable for black skin, solving the problem of pigment loss. His body is only open for public viewing on his birthday each year.

Gautwald’s body was cremated in 1962 after failing to achieve adequate preservation due to technical limitations. Dimitrov’s body was preserved for over 40 years, but with the upheavals in Eastern Europe, it was later removed from the tomb and buried in a cemetery. Mongolia’s Chöbäshän’s body was placed in a mausoleum after preservation, but in 2005, the mausoleum was destroyed, and his body was cremated according to Buddhist rituals. The changing times have altered the final resting places of these remains.

The permanent preservation of bodies is a dual result of technology and history, requiring both technical support and societal acceptance. Bodies in crystal coffins are not only witnesses to technological progress but also mirrors of history.